A Volkswagen ad with fight scenes inspired by the Bourne and Matrix movies has received a pre-9pm TV ban after more than 1,000 complaints to the advertising watchdog made it the fifth most complained-about UK commercial ever.

Complaints to the ASA ranged from the violence in the series of ads, which were all versions of an original, single 100-second commercial, to whether they were unsuitable to be seen when children might be watching and could lead to copycat behaviour.

VW said the struggle in the ads was "metaphorical rather than real" and that the "exaggerated, cartoon-like sound effects and actions were designed to dispel the gravity of the fighting".

The most graphic versions of the ad were given a post-7.30pm airing restriction, while one edited-down version had been given approval to be shown earlier.

VW said that even in this case it had "taken care to avoid family programming in the pre-5.30pm schedule" and that the full-length violent ad had not been shown before 11pm.

Overall, VW said that in the context of other film, TV and videogame materials to which children may be exposed the ads did not stand out as posing any risk of copycat behaviour. The level of action was not "dissimilar to the levels of action seen in many family TV programmes", the car company added.

However, the ASA ruled against two versions of the TV ad that showed particularly graphic images, including fight scenes using car parts.

The regulator said that the 100-second cut included an "opening punch [that was] shocking and set up a series of violent set pieces that included the use of weapons".

In its ruling, published today, the advertising watchdog concluded that the VW commercial needed a further restriction to not be shown before the 9pm watershed.

A second TV ad, a 40-second version that also included the opening punch and use of weapons, also needed a post-9pm ban.

The ASA cleared all the VW ads of complaints that they specifically targeted children and could lead to copycat behaviour. The cinema ad was also cleared.

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